empiresabyssiniafandomcom-20200213-history
Dahlak
ዳህላክ - Amharic : ‘Impoverished vessel’. The Dahlak archipelago is an island group belonging to the Abyssinian Empire, located in the Red Sea. It consists of two large and 124 smaller islands. The archipelago is well known for its pearl fisheries and tortoiseshell. Dahlak Kebir is the largest of the islands and is itself one of the four islands which are populated, primarily because of the lack of potable water on all the others. The other permanently occupied islands are Norah, Nahalek and Harmil. The other, occasionally, inhabited islands of the archipelago are Dhuladiya, Dissei, Dohul, Erwa, Harat, Isra-Tu and Shumma. Most of these are either replenishment points for pearl or tortoiseshell farmers, or temporary lookouts for the Oared Fleet of Abyssinia. The islands are bleak, and covered with coarse savannah scrub and the occasional clump of acacia trees. The topography is quite flat, with the highest peak being no more than about 30 meters. Some inlets and bays are filled with mangrove groves and clumps. Many of the inlets and straits criss-crossing the archipelago are treacherous because of unpredictable currents, and shifting shoals and sandbanks. The best harbourage is found in the Great Lagoon, where the main base of the oared naval fleet is located. A minor base for the smallest craft is located in the Lesser Lagoon to the east. The main naval base is dominated by the fleet’s headquarters and barracks complex which looks down from its 30 meter hill and over the Great Lagoon. Barracks space for some 500 marines, and 1000 sailors and oarsmen is provided for within. The shallow depth and narrowness of many of the straits which criss-cross the archipelago make it ideal for the use of shallow-draught galleys, especially torpedo rams and gonne skiffs. ''These vessels can hide in narrow inlets and ambush ships trying to navigate through the archipelago rather than going around it. Just prior to the invasion of the ''Tri-States, many a Persian or Tri-State vessel had been trapped in just a situation, beset by torpedo rams and gun skiffs and either disabled and captured or seriously damaged and forced to retreat. Similar tactics have been used to foil smugglers and those attempting to evade the trade tariffs imposed by the Empire. The effectiveness of Dahlak as a forward defence for Adulis and the Hamasin coast earned it the name of the Marab yaCha ''(Net of teeth). Both the main naval base and the station at Nocra have extensive water storage cisterns. Also situated at Nocra is the 30 meter signal tower and lighthouse, the ''Geneb ya Aayn (Tower of the Eye). It passes communications from the naval base to a sequence of two towers on the mainland which connect it to Adulis and thence to the ''masha ''network. The people of the archipelago speak mostly Dahlik and are the fisherman/harvesters of pearls and tortoiseshell. All five villages on the island support themselves through this industry, supplemented by fishing and some goat herding. Recently, many villagers have also begun to work for the naval bases situated here. The islands can be reached by regular supply boats from Massawa.